Ivy Bean, who has died aged 104, became an internet personality after moving into a residential care home in Bradford. She gained a fanbase on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter with her tales of daytime television viewing, rare and relished trips out and fish and chip lunches on a Friday, as well as complaints of ailments and memories of lost friends.

Her newfound fame meant that her existence soon became anything but ordinary. Ivy was a fan of the pop star Peter Andre, and Twitter enabled her to make his acquaintance. Andre was so taken by their friendship that he telephoned and visited her. Earlier this year, she also met Gordon and Sarah Brown.

I went to interview Ivy last year, and was struck by her positivity and love of life, which radiated in her presence at the home, Hillside Manor, as much as in her frequent updates on Twitter and Facebook. She posted more than 1,000 tweets, which ranged from the mundane ("me and my friend mabel are going to have a game of connect 4") to the hilarious ("ive been shopping to marks and spencers and bought a new handbag...nobody recognised me for a change i thought i might get mobbed like at asda"). They were often affectionate: "i wish i could make all my followers a cup of tea to say thank you for taking time out to send me lovely messages."

She was born Ivy Asquith, one of eight children in her family. She left James Street school in Thornton, West Yorkshire, at the age of 14 to work in a local mill. She married Harold Bean, an army cook. After the second world war they worked in service at the Northampton home of Lord and Lady Guinness. She usually worked in the kitchens, and told me about her terror the first time she was in the same room as the family.

Ivy and Harold later returned to Bradford, and eventually settled on Harrogate Road, where Ivy had grown up. She continued to work in service and then in an office. She retired aged 73, shortly after Harold's death.

It was not until Ivy moved to Hillside Manor aged 101 that she gained fame, after an IT company helped her and other residents to get online. She quickly gained the maximum number of friends possible on Facebook, and so switched to Twitter, where she gained more than 50,000 followers. She brought a life-affirming joy to many, and proved that old age need not necessarily mean fading quietly away.

Ivy is survived by her daughter, Sandra, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.